The present invention relates to a superior way of folding ear panels on disposable absorbent articles. In particular, attention is directed towards disposable diapers.
Disposable absorbent articles, in particular, disposable diapers are well-known articles of manufacture that are designed to be worn principally by infants and incontinence sufferers. Such diapers are worn about the lower torso of the wearer and are intended to absorb and contain urine and other bodily discharges, thus preventing the soiling, wetting, or similar contamination of articles (for example, clothing, bedding, other persons, etc.) that may come into contact with such a diaper in use.
On reaching for a fresh disposable diaper, the user normally unfolds the diaper from the folded and packaged configuration into a semi-folded configuration, locates the ear panels furnished with the tape tab fastening devices and opens out the diaper into an unfolded configuration that permits the user to fit and fasten the diaper about the waist of the wearer to effect a side closure. In the folded and semi-folded configurations, the ear panels typically lie adjacent to the back waist region of the diaper resulting in the tape tab fastening devices being in a position that either does not facilitate easy user access or that poses a risk to the user and even the wearer due to the clipped nature of the ear panels. Clipping tends to occur during the manufacturing cutting phase as a result of the haphazard arrangement of the ear panels on the chassis assembly.
The prior art does not reveal any particularly pertinent information on the subject of the folding of ear panels on disposable absorbent articles such as diapers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,863,637 focuses on the folding of a diaper. In particular, the diaper is longitudinally folded into a configuration which in cross-section resembles the Greek symbol sigma on one side of the longitudinal centreline of the diaper and a reverse sigma on the opposite side of the diaper. The diaper has a rectangular outline with adhesive strips being provided on the opposite corners of one end of the diaper. Due to the rectangular shape of the diaper, the issue of ear folding is simply not encountered. In contrast, U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,462 does mention the folding of ear panels. The document describes how a diaper according to the teachings of the invention can be folded and adapted for packaging. The foreshortening of the narrow crotch section as a result of the presence of elastics causes the diaper to fold itself transversely in half, thus enabling the outwardly extending ear panels at the edges of the waistband sections to be easily folded inwards. EP 0 452 951 B1 describes the folding of side sections on a training pants for the purposes of facilitating packaging. In particular, the document relates to a training pants having a front portion, a back portion and side sections connecting both portions together. The side sections extend from the waist opening to the respective leg openings and are folded along a centre line of the training pants extending in the longitudinal direction so that they are positioned between the front portion and the back portion of the training pants. Currently, other disposable diaper products on the market reveal a random arrangement in relation to the folding of ear panels and furthermore, clipped ear panels are very prevalent. This is most pronounced within the disposable diaper packs on opening.
As a result of the above prior art attempts, it has been recognised by those skilled in the art that it would be desirable to provide a means of reproducibly and consistently folding the ear panels on disposable diapers in order to simplify and accelerate the diaper opening process for the user, reduce the risk of potential injury to the end user and wearer caused by clipped ear panels, and create for packaging purposes, a more aesthetically satisfying arrangement in the disposable diaper pack. The solution is found to be ear panels that are multiply folded to create a configuration that exposes the tape tab fastening devices of the ear panels to the user when the diaper has been opened into the semi-folded configuration and that reveals no clipped ears.
It has now been discovered that the benefits of the present invention range from an easy one step opening action for the diaper and the tape tab fastening device; to a product with a superior and enhanced appearance due to the neat, controlled and consistent manner of the ear panel folding; to a product that is extremely user friendly and that causes no harm either to the user or to the wearer; to a product that confers a high level of user satisfaction and confidence; and to an arrangement that is most attractive on first impact when the user opens a disposable diaper pack to obtain a diaper. Furthermore, the inclusion of the folding procedure on current manufacturing lines is straightforward. In fact, the folding procedure results in increased reliability, process simplification and permits the elimination of the use of static charging equipment, which poses a safety risk to operators.
In one aspect of the present invention, a disposable absorbent article having a front waist region and a back waist region, a chassis assembly comprising a liquid pervious topsheet and a liquid impervious backsheet joined with the topsheet; an absorbent core positioned between the topsheet and the backsheet; and a pair of ear panels in the back waist region is disclosed. The ear panels comprise a tape tab fastening device comprising an attachment area and a functional area. Each of the ear panels is folded backwards onto itself to at least the width of the attachment area of the tape tab fastening device and subsequently is folded forward onto itself to at least once the width of the attachment area of the tape tab fastening device. The portion of the ear panel after forward folding not comprising the attachment area of the tape tab fastening device is disposed in a configuration partially overlapping the attachment area of the tape tab fastening device. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, each of the ear panels is folded forward onto itself to twice the width of the attachment area of the tape tab fastening device. The ear panels can be either unitary with the back waist region of the diaper or joined along a line of juncture to same.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method of making a disposable diaper with the features described above is disclosed. The steps comprise providing a disposable diaper; folding each of the ear panels backwards onto itself to at least the width of the attachment area of the tape tab fastening device; folding each of the ear panels forward onto itself to at least once the width of the attachment area of the tape tab fastening device; folding each portion of the ear panels after forward folding not comprising the attachment area of the tape tab fastening device into a configuration that partially overlaps the attachment area of the tape tab fastening device. In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ear panels are joined along a line of juncture to the back waist region before the forward folding step occurs.